The Internet’s set to get just the tiniest bit smaller this year. Okay, it’ll keep expanding, but a bunch of old familiar places are closing up shop. Google Reader’s getting the ax, FeedDemon too, and now it’s been revealed that Formspring, the question and answer service you probably cared about a little bit in 2010, will be shutting down as well. If you’ve got some burning questions you’ve been meaning to ask a specific Formspring user, now’s the time.
That said, if you really want to ask questions and have random strangers answer them, there’s always Tumblr, Quora, and the last resort that is Yahoo! Answers. Those are just a few examples of services that more or less provide the exact same function, or one similar enough for it not to make. Tumblr’s likely your best bet if this actually affects you.
The problem Formspring encountered, essentially, is finding a way to monetize their users. A bunch of folks used the service, but getting money out of their use proved difficult. “While we’ve had great success in reaching a broad audience, it’s been challenging to sustain the resources needed to keep the lights on,” wrote Ade Olonoh, founder and CEO, on the company’s blog.
Questions will cease being taken on March 30th, and users have until April 15th to export their data. Goodnight, sweet prince. This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.
(Formspring via Hacker News)
